Duff & Quarters: Why AFL’s punishment for Adelaide Crows is ‘laughable’, and why it should’ve been a draft pick penalty

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The Adelaide Crows have dodged a significant bullet with the light penalties they received for breaching AFL training protocols, according to Glen Quartermain and Mark Duffield.

Speaking on The Duff & Quarters podcast, the two senior football journalists discussed the AFL’s decision to hand 16 players a one-match suspended ban, as well as a six-week ban for assistant coach Ben Hart.

The sanctions came as a result of a training breach under Hart’s watch, where players trained in two groups of eight, despite the AFL’s ruling to only allow training in pairs.

Quartermain didn’t hold back when discussing the penalties, describing them as ‘laughable’, while suggesting what he believes the outcome should’ve been.

“The AFL has handed down, what’s not even a whack with a feather duster. It’s just the duster part without the stick!” he said.

“I think it’s way unders. I was disappointed with that.”

Duffield admitted the AFL faced a difficult position where they couldn’t suspend the players involved, due to the sheer amount of first-choice players that would leave sidelined.

“Unless you suspend their leadership component, so you have Tom Doedee, Kyle Hartigan and Lachie Murphy, the more experienced players, but then it’s probably unfair to suspend them and not the others.”

Duffield added: “You can fine them, but in these times, fines are going to be problematic.”